


Aura and The Void

by DrMakenshi



Category: Kingdom Hearts, RWBY
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/F, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2016-10-29
Packaged: 2018-08-27 16:11:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8408149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrMakenshi/pseuds/DrMakenshi
Summary: Barely escaping the clutches of DiZ and Organization XIII, Roxas finds himself in a world full of Hunters, unnatural creatures, and class warfare. Can a Nobody find a place in this strange world, while also trying to find a meaning for their existence?





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everybody! DrMakenshi here to welcome you to "Aura and The Void". This is actually a cross-post from my account on Fanfiction.net, but I had someone bring up the idea of posting it here as well. For anybody new, this is my first fanfiction and it was created in honor of the Monty Out Project. So without further adieu, welcome to Chapter 1 of "Aura and the Void".
> 
> Disclaimer: Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix own Kingdom Hearts and Rooster Teeth owns RWBY.

Chapter 1:  Beginnings

* * *

 

As far as Roxas’s memory served, today started out pretty normal.

Despite another batch of strange dreams, Roxas thought that the morning had started out the same as any other day during summer break. Wake up, get dressed, and head to the “Usual Spot”, as we like to call it. Hayner, Pence, and Olette were already there, deep in the middle of a conversation about the intricacies of Struggle fighting, apparently not even noticing him enter.

“Man, I could not sleep last night…” Roxas muttered, trying to announce his presence, but not even getting an acknowledgment. _Maybe they didn’t hear me_ , he thought. Roxas raised up a hand to smack Hayner on the shoulder when it happened.

Hayner turned around and ran straight through Roxas like he wasn’t even there!

_What!?_

Pence and Olette moved to follow Hayner out of the hangout and Roxas threw his arms out to stop them. Roxas did nothing to stop them and felt nothing as they passed. No sense of friction, warmth, or even a presence. Simply nothing. Glancing at the mess of paper and knick-knacks on the desk, he spotted the old picture of all of them in front of the Old Mansion. However, something was missing, something crucial to him. _Where am I?  I should be right behind Pence!_ Despite the shock of everything that was happening, Roxas was desperately trying to figure out what was going on. _What is happening? Am I still dreaming? Yeah, that has gotta be the explanation_.  Roxas decided to follow them outside and was greeted by the last person he wanted to see, real or in a dream.

Axel.

As skinny as he was tall, Axel’s figure appeared from the dark portal, the dark black coat serving to mix him in with the dark wisps of energy still coming off the portal. Removing the hood with a carefree swipe of one hand, hair styled in the manner and color of dancing flames was uncovered. Two small purple teardrop tattoos under the eyes added to the look of mischief and superiority on his face as he stared down at Roxas. A small flick of Axel’s hand was all that was needed to summon two monsters to block Roxas’ paths of escape.

Cornered by two strange, silver beings and confronted by this psychopath was very low on the list of what Roxas was expecting to happen today.

“Look at what it’s come to,” Axel purred. “I’ve been given these icky orders to destroy you if you refuse to come back with me.”

_Yeah, you seem truly broken up about the matter_ , Roxas thought sarcastically. Still, getting destroyed really didn’t seem like the most pleasant option. _Maybe I can talk my way out of this, Namine said we used to be best friends, so…_

“We’re…best friends, right?” Roxas said hopefully.

“Sure, but I’m not getting turned into a Dusk for you,” he said before stopping himself. His eyes lit up in some imitation of surprise as he continued, “Wait a sec! You remember now?”

“Yeah”, Roxas muttered. _I might just make it out of here alive._

“Great! Axel exclaimed before he gained a somewhat thoughtful expression. “But, you know, gotta make sure and all. So um…what’s our boss’s name?”

_I may have gotten ahead of myself_. Roxas couldn’t remember anything from back in his so-called days working for Organization XIII. He must have taken too long to answer because Axel took one look at his face and began to shake his head, trying to act as if in pain.

“Can’t believe this…” Axel muttered. _Well, that answer doesn’t seem good to me._ Grabbing a nearby stick off the ground, Roxas tried to pour every ounce of his focus into imagining the twig turn into a keyblade. _Come on, please work!_ Feeling his focus reach its peak, Roxas saw the twig begin to give off pieces of light before feeling the rough wood in his hand turn into a smooth, steel grip and the light begin to form the basic shape of a keyblade before solidifying. Not even taking a second to glance at the weapon he now held, Roxas lunged at the nearest creature. _If I am going to go out, I am going out fighting!_ , he thought as a surge of adrenaline ran through him, feeling both foreign and welcoming. It felt as if the keyblade led him into the fight, launching three quick strikes at one of the silver monsters.

Despite Roxas’ relative inexperience with the weapon, the third strike had cut the monster clean in half, dissolving the body into a strange grey dust before disappearing. In his utter shock at victory, Roxas hardly noticed the creature’s companion coming up behind him, ready to strike. Sensing the creature’s attack, only a second before it landed, he swept low under the attack and came out right behind it. Pushing the advantage, he launched another three strikes at the creature, who then died in the same manner as the first.

Axel, who seemed less than pleased at Roxas’ small victory, gave a small wave of his hand. Roxas glanced in shock at the vortex of grey and silver that came up from the ground, revealing a monster that was similar, but different, than the first two. The monster seemed to have sharp spikes jutting out of all of its appendages and appeared much more lethal. The second difference became apparent when the creature launched itself into the ground, leaving a ripple across the ground.

_Where did it go?_ Roxas glanced around and finally spotted two spike arms jutting out of the ground, perfectly poised to strike him in the back. Reacting on instinct, he grabbed both of its arms in one hand, wrenching the creature from the ground, smashing it into the dirt, and then stabbing it with the keyblade for good measure.

Axel was definitely not happy now, a fierce glare forming on his face. Throwing both of his hands back, a vortex of red flames and black thorns formed around each hand, solidifying into a pair of red and silver chakrams. As Axel readied his first strike, Roxas got in position to fight for his life before noticing something strange. Mid-windup, Axel appeared to be frozen, the glare still stuck on his face and body poised to strike. _What else is going to happen today!?_

Two seconds later, a booming voice seemed to reverberate down from the sky, filling Roxas with a sense of hope and dread at the same time.

“Roxas, to the mansion. The time has come.”

Barely taking a second to think, Roxas ran straight toward the mansion, considering it the safer option when compared to fighting Axel. He ran as fast as possible, barely stopping to fight any of the strange creatures that appeared to try to stop him, but instead he chose to just bat them away and continue on his way.

* * *

Reaching the gate of the mansion, Roxas was shocked to learn that the gate was locked. He shook the gate, hoping that the lock would simply break due to old age, but nothing happened. Three weird sounds, similar to a small hurricane, sounded off behind, alerting him to turn around just in time to see three silver creatures erupt from the ground. “Don’t call me and then lock me out…” Roxas muttered, angered at the false hope he had been provided.

The keyblade, however, seemed to have an idea of what to do now. In Roxas’ hands, it shook relentlessly before bringing itself level with the keyhole on the gate. To his utter shock, a small beam of light shot from the tip of the blade at the lock, a clicking sound was all that could be heard as the lock vanished in a shower of light. Roxas barely took a second to consider this revelation as he charged through the gates and into the dilapidated foyer of the mansion. Thinking of the one person that he knew of in the mansion, he headed straight up the stairs and into the room of his one potential ally.

_Namine_.

The white drawing room was still as unnerving as ever. The stark white interior was a clear contrast to the rest of the mansion with its dirty interior and broken furniture. The only bits of color were the small crayon drawings posted on the wall, each one with a different story to tell. However, as Roxas wandered around the room, he was drawn to a small portrait by the fireplace.

The picture appeared to feature a dark city devoid of light. The only other part of the picture was the small figure, dressed in black and with a full head of blond hair, seemingly walking away from the area. The longer Roxas stared at it, the more a headache began to develop, eventually sending him to the ground as he was bombarded by an array of images that made him cry out in a scream of pure pain and revelation.

_These were my memories._

It all came back to Roxas like a flash. Waking up with no memories of his existence, being introduced to the Organization, training with all of the members, evenings spent on the clock tower with Axel and sea-salt ice-cream, and leaving after being betrayed. Leaving Axel behind.

_Oh god, what have I done. He was my best friend and I have been treating him like a homicidal maniac. At least know I can understand why he appears so angry…_

“Organization XIII…it’s a bad group,” Roxas said regretting his decisions from the past.

“Bad or good, I don’t know,” a soft voice said from across the room, making him turn around to face the one person who could tell him the truth, Namine. Dressed in a pure white gown and featuring skin and hair so light that could have blended into the room, Namine could appear to be the personification of an angel, ethereal and innocent. These two concepts contrasted sharply with her previous actions.  

“They’re a group of incomplete people who wish to be whole. To that end, they’re desperately searching for something,” Namine intoned, sounding completely neutral on the subject.

“I know. Kingdom Hearts. I remember everything, Namine. The question is: Why did I forget?”, Roxas asked, the volume and venom of his voice escalating with each word. With the return of his memories had come a shift in attitude. They had programmed him to act how they wanted, but now his true “personality” was beginning to shine through.

The gasp that followed his question was a sign that he was never supposed to remember. “Roxas, you have to understand, we needed you to see reason and to listen to us. When we captured you, you were in a highly emotional state and would never listen…” _“I WONDER WHY!?”_

The look on Roxas’ face and the tone of his voice scared Namine into silence. “You and your cohorts attacked me, beat me, erased my memories, and made me live a lie, all just so that you could get what you wanted. Now, I want you to tell me what your goals were,” Roxas demanded, the keyblade flashing into existence in his right hand due to his anger.

Namine appeared to take a second to think before she answered, “We needed you to recombine with Sora to speed up his recovery. He was injured while exploring Castle Oblivion and has been in a coma like state ever since.”

“You said ‘speed up’, not heal. Does that mean that he will wake up on his own?”

“Originally, we thought he would not. However, just from you being in this simulation has caused Sora to recover on his own. He is nearly awake know, but DiZ thought we could not wait any longer for him to wake up,” Namine answered, a false look of sadness capturing her entire face.

“Hold on, who is DiZ?” Roxas demanded before a dark corridor appeared behind Namine, with an unsettling figure making its entrance. A man was draped in a mass of red robes with a large amount of red belts crisscrossing his face. The only distinct feature that Roxas could make out was a repugnant smirk and an orange eye that appeared to stare right through him. The figure quickly wrapped an arm around Namine’s throat and pulled her away with a small shriek.

“I am DiZ,” the shadowy figure intoned, his voice low and full of condescension. _I can already tell that I should hate this guy._ “You, pitiful Nobody, have no right to exist and your only purpose is to recombine with Sora. You will fulfill this purpose, whether you like it or not. It is simply the fate of a Nobody.” With those parting words, DiZ dragged Namine back into the portal and disappeared before Roxas could even lunge forward. Namine’s last words echoed out of the corridor freezing him in place.

“You won’t disappear. You’ll be whole again,” and with that they were both gone.

_Great_. Although he was still angry, Roxas tried to think about all the information he had just been given. Sora, his Somebody, was injured and they wanted him to recombine with him. This could only happen by giving up his existence. _That is not about to happen, I am me. Nobody else!_ Secondly, Namine had mentioned being put in a simulation. This could only mean that Roxas needed to escape to the real world before he could be free of DiZ’s intentions.

_Okay, if this is a simulation, then there has to be a control room, just like back at the Castle. If I can find how they put me in here, I can theoretically use it to get out._

* * *

Roxas spent the next half hour, searching for a control room before finding a secret entrance to the basement behind a bookshelf in the library. The passage way was a stark contrast to the mansion, appearing to be free of all dust and having many advanced facets of technology. He continued to explore abandoned hallways, some in states of disrepair while others looked to have been recently closed, before coming to an open area.

Roxas had just started to walk towards the exit on the other side of the room when a corridor appeared in the center of the room. Axel walked out, his arms crossed and a neutral expression on his face, saying, “Simply amazing, Roxas.”

“Axel,” Roxal said trying to pour every one of his non-existent emotions into the word. He wanted to say “I’m sorry” and “I understand”, but that was all he could say.

“You really do remember me this time?” Axel said, calmness changing to anger. “I’m So FLATTERED!! But You’re Too LATE!!”

With a wave of Axel’s hands, the room became engulfed in flames, forming a large circle around us and keeping us in the room. Another wave from Axel was all it took to bring forth his chakrams.

_I guess we really do have to fight. I’m sorry I made it come to this._ Calling on his reawakened memories, Roxas brought forth a keyblade in each hand before twirling them together. A surge of energy sprang through him and into the keyblades, transforming them into his ultimate weapons. In his left hand was a keyblade that appeared to be composed of pure light and boosted his own magic powers, the Oathkeeper. In his right hand, a keyblade of pure darkness formed, Oblivion, which would boost his attack power.

The sight of Roxas wielding two keyblades momentarily stunned Axel with him declaring “TWO!!” Pressing this moment of shock, Roxas lunged forth swinging his keyblades in an alternating manner before being blocked by Axel’s weapons and being forced to use his keyblades to block the oncoming barrage of swings and throws of the chakrams. Each block pushed Roxas farther back and took part of his breath away. Looking back, Roxas noticed that two more blocks of the swings would send him straight into the wall of flames.

Jumping into the air, Roxas dodged the next throw of the chakrams and launched himself at Axel, delivering a cross slash to his undefended torso. Feeling pain and anger swell within him, Axel unleashed a burst of flames that covered the surrounding area with fixtures of fire, instantly burning Roxas’ feet in the process. At this time, Axel launched himself into the wall of fire.

_Where did he go?_ Roxas wondered while trying to look for Axel through the flames. Without a sound of warning, Roxas barely saw a flash of red headed towards him. Barely reacting in time, he was able to dodge out of the way of Axel’s strike, but not without earning a slash across the side of the face from the tip of Axel’s weapon. Axel never even seemed to stop, diving straight back into the wall of fire.

_Okay, that hurt! At least I know what he is planning to do now_. Roxas got into a ready positon and waited for the next strike to come. Axel began to dart back and forth, his chakrams out and ready to slash him at any second, hoping to catch him in a blind spot. Roxas started to roll into a dodge, attempting to remain agile enough to avoid the attacks while also remaining moving.

After several minutes of dodging, with his energy waning due to the previous attacks, the flames from the floor, and the reawakening of his memories, Roxas noticed that a small shimmer would appear in the wall just before Axel would appear. Considering it his last chance in his weakened state, Roxas rolled towards the fixture, rolling directly under Axel’s attacks and popping up behind him with just enough time to sweep both keyblades into his back, launching him into the air. Following suit, Roxas launched himself into the air and delivered a devastating cross slash to his chest. The force caused Axel to scream while being rocketed back onto the ground. The force was enough to knock the chakrams from his hands and cause the surrounding flames to splutter out, signaling Roxas’ victory.

Seeing that he had won, Roxas walked towards the downed man.

“Axel…” he said, memories of their last true encounter playing through his mind.

_“You can’t leave the organization. You get on their bad side and they’ll destroy you!”_

_“No one would miss me.”_

_“That’s not true…I would.”_

_You honestly only wanted to save me didn’t you…_ Roxas thought as he stared at his fallen friend.

“Let’s meet again in the next life,” Axel muttered, just loud enough for Roxas to hear.

Roxas answered without a second thought, “Sure”.

Axel gives out one more smirk before pulling a smaller version of the Organization’s coat out and throwing it to Roxas. As Roxas caught it, he recognizes the design and cut off his old coat.

“Silly, just because you have a next life…” with those final words a dark corridor appears below Axel, swallowing him up, but not before he forms a small corridor behind Roxas.

With Axels’s disappearance, the corridor below him too disappeared, but leaving the corridor behind Roxas intact. Roxas stared at the corridor for a few seconds before realizing what Axel had left him.

_A way out._ Knowing that Roxas could not form corridors in the simulation, Axel had made a corridor for him to manipulate. Raising his hand, Roxas channeled the magic within him and poured it into the corridor, watching it bend and lighten to a light gray due to the influx of his own dark and light magic. To Roxas putting on his old coat was like welcoming an old friend, much more comfortable than the clothes he had worn in the simulation and much better for battle. Roxas had gave the corridor no exact world to lead him to, hoping that this would keep both the Organization and DiZ from finding him, but also caused a high probability of ending up on an unknown world.

_Not that that is a whole lot of worlds to start with. Best not to waste this golden opportunity._ With these thoughts in hand, Roxas marched into the corridor with no fear and what could be possibly be called hope.

* * *

 

_Where am I?_ This was Roxas’ immediate thought as he returned to consciousness. Apparently, altering an already formed corridor left it extremely unstable. Just two steps into the portal, he was knocked unconscious by the turbulence of the corridor. _Best to keep that in mind for the future._

Looking around at his surroundings, Roxas appeared to be in a small forest clearing. The grass was bright green, with small flowers beginning to bloom, and small bushes and tall trees surrounding the area.

_Okay, a forest. That certainly tells me a lot about this world._ As this sarcastic thought finished in Roxas’ head, a growling sound began to come from the opposite side of the clearing. From a group of large bushes, a large black creature began to emerge. The creature had the general shape of a bear, but appeared to be much larger. What really stood out about the creature was its glowing red eyes and the large bone-like spikes that jutted out of its back, the same material forming the creature’s deadly sharp teeth. Sadly, this was not the worst part about this encounter.

Those eyes and teeth were pointed directly at him.

_Just my luck…_

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Welcome Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix owns Kingdom Hearts and Rooster Teeth owns RWBY.

Chapter 2:  Welcome Party

* * *

 

_A_ _lright, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Maybe it’s just the local wildlife,_ Roxas thought as he tried to observe the large creature, while simultaneously backing away. Roxas was still weak from his battle with Axel and the turbulent travel through the Dark Corridor had only served to make him even more worn out. These factors, as well as his imprisonment, had also served to rob him of his basic elemental magic. If possible, it was going to be best to avoid a prolonged fight. As if sensing his train of thought, the hulking beast appeared to lock on to Roxas’ movement and started to march towards him, fangs glistening and a roar beginning to erupt from his throat.

_Okay, maybe I was acting too hopeful_ , Roxas thought, right before the creature dashed towards him, its large mass making the ground shake. He barely had time to launch himself to the side to avoid the attack, crashing sideways into the ground and kicking up dirt as he slid. Quickly jumping back to his feet, Roxas immediately summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion, barely managing to stop a massive swipe of the beast’s claws with a cross guard.

_This thing hits hard. In my current state, it’s probably better to evade then block_. Quickly ducking under the beast’s claws, Roxas lunged to the left before taking a swipe at the monster’s side, hitting one of its bone-like armor plates. The attack seemed to cause some damage, as the creature let out an unsettling roar, but not quite as much as Roxas had hoped. This proved that while the beast’s armor provided some degree of protection, he could still power through it.

As the beast readied itself for another charge attack, Roxas noticed a factor that could shift the tides in his favor:  the beast had no armor on it its stomach. With a plan set in mind, Roxas stormed towards the charging beast, keyblades gouging marks into the ground as they drug behind him.

Seeing the beast bring a claw up to slash him, Roxas used his speed to throw Oathkeeper up to block and redirect the blow before sliding under the beast and delivering a devastating slash from the monster’s left shoulder to its right back leg. Coming to a stop just on the other side of the creature, Roxas dropped his hands to his knees and looked back to examine his handiwork.

Severely weakened by the blow, the monster appeared to struggle to stand for a moment before collapsing onto the ground in a heap. What startled Roxas, however, was what happened next. Giving one final shudder, the creature became still before seeming to dissolve into a black mist that was carried off on the wind.

_A new type of Heartless?_ The creature’s death was similar to the death of a Pureblood Heartless, which would erupt into a small mist of darkness without even a heart to show for its defeat.

_What I wouldn’t do for a Cure right about now._ Feeling exhaustion start to work even further into his being, Roxas started to think, while catching his breath. At least he now knew to aim for unprotected areas of the new creatures to dispatch them rather quickly.

_Alright, time to find some civilization. Or at least a safe place to sle-_

Roxas’ thought process was interrupted when he was slammed so hard in the back that he was rocketed face first into the side of a nearby tree. Fighting through the pain that was telling his body to shut down, he glanced back to see a massive hoard of the bear-like creatures emerging from the foliage. _Oh great, it called back up._

Picking himself out of the sizeable imprint he left in the tree, Roxas staggered forward and shakily summoned his keyblades. However, through the pain and exhaustion, he began to feel a familiar power that was both a saving grace and a warning. His ultimate trump card.

His Limit Break, Event Horizon

Harnessing all of the pain, adrenaline, and light within him, Roxas erupted into a column of light that could be seen from miles away before bringing out both blades in an outwards slash. The light coated Roxas making him feel the raw power and energy of the light magic within him, enhancing all of his attributes: magic, strength, speed, and more. The left over light coated his keyblades, increasing their reach and power. Standing before these creatures of raw darkness, Roxas acted as a polar opposite, pure light. With his power surge, Roxas faced down his army attackers, a grim smirk on his face.

_Bring it on!_

* * *

Standing atop a cliffside, Ruby Rose’s emotions were a mix of exhaustion and pure joy.

While the battle against the giant Nevermore Grimm had been physically grueling, Ruby rejoiced in the crazy battle that had taken place and the awesome teamwork of the people around her.

_How many people can say they acted as a human slingshot against a giant Nevermore?_

Looking down, she could see that Weiss, Blake, and Yang were looking up the cliffside at her. Yang’s face of pride caught her attention in less than a second, while both Blake and Weiss both had looks of exhaustion and contentment. On the other side of the broken pathway, Ruby could also spot Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren trying to catch their breath after their struggle against the Deathstalker.

Ruby was just about to signal her allies to start making their way up the hill when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye.

_What is that!?_ Ruby wondered, marveling as a column of light had erupted from a nearby section of the forest. Fearing that another group could be in trouble, she ran straight off the side of the cliff and allowed gravity to send her back to the ground, using some well-timed shots from Crescent Rose to safely slow her descent. Looking up from her landing, she saw that her three closest allies were giving her a look of confusion and, in one case, slight anger.

“What are you doing!? We have to get to the top of the cliff to reach the other end of the forest, so why would you come back down?” Weiss asked, her previous exhaustion forgotten in the wake of the one girl’s idiocy.

“There was a gigantic explosion of light coming from the forest. Another group could be in trouble! We have to go help!” Ruby pleaded, trying to get her new friends to understand the gravity of the situation.

“Ruby, we need to complete the entrance exam. We are already behind the other groups. They can probably take care of it themselves,” Yang responded, not seeing why they should get involved in the situation.

“Wait.”

All three of the girls’ eyes turned to focus on Blake. “Considering the amount of people launched for the exam and the relics missing, there should not be any more people in the Emerald Forest. We were the last group,” Blake interjected, a thoughtful look showing on her face.

“What? Then who is left in the forest?” Weiss answered.

“Come on! We have to go help them!” Ruby shouted, speeding forward before any of the others could say more. If she wanted to be a true huntress, she needed to protect the people around her, whether they be family or complete strangers.

Just like her mom had.

“Ruby, wait!” Yang yelled, but her words were wasted on deaf ears. Ruby had already sped out of hearing range using her semblance, straight back into the heart of the forest. Seeing that her sister would not be coming back any time soon, Yang followed after her, not even taking a minute to glance at her and Ruby’s new partners.

Blake and Weiss stood, seemingly rooted to the spot in shock, before looking at each other and then at the area where their partners had disappeared from sight.

“Are we going to follow them?”

“Ugh, I guess…”

* * *

 

_Will...they…ever…STOP!?_ Roxas thought. He had taken down eight of the bear creatures during his limit break, but he was quickly reaching the end of his power boost. He had maybe a minute left before he would have to finish off his power boost with Event Horizon. Once that was done, Roxas knew he would be a sitting duck, as the Limit Break focused all of his remaining power into this one last chance. Despite taking out a considerable number of the beasts, they seemed to continually replace themselves.

_If I can’t think of a plan, I’m going to be sent back to the Void,_ Roxas thought as another beast charged at him.

Just then, a red blur surged in front of Roxas, effectively halting the monster’s approach and damaging it in the process. Once the blur had stopped, it took the form of a young black-haired girl in a red cape.

“Need some help?” she asked, her voice holding hints of youth and determination. In her hands was a large red scythe that rivaled Marluxia’s in size and which seemed to be highly mechanized. Before Roxas could even respond, she wiped the scythe around with surprising ease and began to attack the nearest creature, using a firing mechanism in the scythe to increase the strength of the attacks through recoil.

_What the…It’s also a gun?_ Roxas only had a moment to consider this new development before the creature on his left reared up on its hind legs and let out a roar. A loud whistle split the air before a burst of fire raced from the forest directly into the exposed chest of the best and staggering it. Following right behind the projectile was a young adult female sporting long, flowing blonde hair with her right fist in a ready position to launch a haymaker straight into the monster’s chest. The punch appeared to be followed with a surge of fire projectile from the girl’s gauntlet-like weapons.

“All right!” the blonde yelled, appearing to be overjoyed about the concept of a fight. The creature had barely been flung backwards when she used her gauntlets to fire behind her and launch herself at another nearby target.

Lastly, two girls, one in white and one in black, arrived from the woods and ran at two of the nearest creatures. The girl in white appeared to be using elemental magic along with some type of speed buff, quickly diving under the creature’s strikes before freezing it to the ground and launching a sword strike coated in fire at the beast, shattering both its prison and severely damaging the monster within, before finishing the beast off with an elegant thrust to the chest.

The woman in black, however, appeared to be waiting for the creature to strike her. As the beast swiped at her form, it seemed to shimmer before it disappeared, revealing that the woman had thrown her blade into the beast’s chest while lunging to the side and swung around behind it using a ribbon connected to the blade. Using her momentum, the girl launched herself into the air directly above the beast, the blade being yanked from the beast and following behind her. Swinging the weapon in a manner similar to a chain scythe, the girl swung the weapon in a killer arc, slicing some of the unprotected parts of the creature’s back before finally embedding itself in its head.

Sensing Event Horizon about to begin, Roxas launched himself at the last four bears in sight, keyblades pulled in close and light overcoming his entire being. Feeling himself collide with the beast at the front of the pack, he unleashed the light within, bursting forth in the shape of thirteen pillars as he slashed outwards and ultimately obliterated the last creatures of darkness. They never stood a chance.

Looking around the surrounding area, Roxas noticed that the forest appeared to have calmed down and no new creatures had come to replace their fallen brethren. The only ones left in the clearing were the four young girls that had served as reinforcements to Roxas’ waning energy supply. Trying to catch his breath, Roxas looked down and tried to collect his thoughts on everything that had happened in the last couple of minutes. These thoughts were cut short, however, when a hand jutted into his vision. Startled by the sudden appearance of the appendage, Roxas looked up followed the hand up to see that its owner was the girl dressed up primarily in red who wielded a scythe. Seeing his attention on her, the girl gave a small smile, which had a tinge of uncertainty.

“Need a hand? It looks like you took quite a beating before we got here,” the girl said.

“Not really, I was wounded right before the battle with those creatures and they attacked before I could recover,” Roxas answered, personally not wanting to admit that he had needed the help after his rocky trip through the corridor had stolen most of his strength.

“Still, seems like you did really well against those Grimm. Were they all Ursa or was there any other types?” Ruby asked, shocked at the amount of carnage he had caused in the short amount of time he had apparently been there. _He must be pretty strong to cause all of this and those swords he has are pretty unique._

“Grimm, what’s that? Also, what is an Ursa?” Roxas asked the strange girl. It was best to gather as much information as possible without appearing too clueless, but at this point he was desperate to get to the bottom of his questions. Fighting a large number of the bear-like creatures had only served lower his patience with the situation. Dispelling his keyblades, Roxas took the girl’s hand, who helped to pull him up with a strange look on her face. A quick survey showed that all three of the girls had looks of curiosity on their faces.

“What happened to your swords? And how can you not know what Grimm are?,” the girl in white demanded incredulously.

_Rule # 1:  Never admit that you come from another world. Probably a good time to actually follow that rule._ Despite no longer working for the Organization, their training, especially in combat and observation, could certainly come in handy.

“I had an accident, I guess,” Roxas answered, formulating a cover story that would be easy to follow. “I woke up in this clearing with an extreme headache and wide-scale exhaustion. I barely woke up when those creatures attacked me.” _Best to stay close to the truth. Less ways to screw up._

“Well, that explains some things. Still, what are you doing out here? You weren’t part of the initial launch from the cliff and it appears that all the other hunters that were launched have partners,” said the woman in black.

“I…can’t remember. Some of my memories are slightly murky. However, when those monsters started attacking me, my instincts just kinda kicked in,” Roxas answered.

“Well then, I guess introductions are in order! I’m Ruby!” the girl in red said. The girl appeared to be slightly younger than the three other girls and appeared to be full of energy.  Her outfit consisted of a red hood and a matching blouse and skirt, decorated in black with a red trim. Her hair was decorated in a similar manner to her outfit, bearing a short black hair cut that was accentuated with red highlights. For some reason, Roxas thought she seemed to look vaguely familiar. However, the feeling quickly passed as she motioned for the other girls in the clearing to introduce themselves.

The girl in white gave Roxas an indifferent look before saying, “Weiss Schnee, of the Schnee Dust Company,” in a slightly haughty tone. Either this “Schnee Dust Company” was very important to this world or the girl had a superiority complex. Possibly a little bit of both. Her outfit consisted of a white dress with a white bolero jacket on top. She also had long white hair pulled up in a pony tail that was slightly off to the side and a long, old scar ran over and under her left eye, but seemed to not have damaged the eye underneath.

“Blake,” the girl in black stated, sounding neutral and calm about the whole ordeal. She appeared to be slightly mysterious and seemed to give off an aloof air. She reminded Roxas of Zexion, in the small amount of time he had talked to him. Not cold, per se, but slightly distant and proficient in illusions. The girl appeared to be wearing black tights, a black vest undercut by a white blouse, and a number of black ribbons wrapped around. The outfit was completed with a large black bow on top of the girl’s head

“And I’m Yang, Ruby’s older sister!” said the blond-haired girl. She appeared to give off an air of confidence and seemed ready to throw herself into battle at any second. She wore a brown short-sleeve jacket and a short skirt that was undercut by a small pair of black shorts. From her rather impressive mane of hair, she also seemed to take a lot of pride in her appearance.

“So, what’s your name?” Ruby asked, still wondering about the random stranger that had appeared in the Emerald Forest. He was dressed in a full length black trench coat that appeared to have a hood on the back and was decorated with a silver chain around the collar. The only distinguishing feature about the boy was his spiky blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, which on first inspection, appeared to be almost unearthly. He seemed slightly strange, but Ruby could understand where he was coming from. _Honestly, if I woke up in the middle of a forest with my head screwed up, I think I would be a little off, too._

“Roxas,” he answered, trying to give a small smile and appear friendly.

“Well, Roxas, why don’t you come back with us? We need to complete our field exam and Professor Ozpin should be able to help you,” Ruby said. _Glynda is gonna kill us when we get back…_

_From the way they’re talking, this “Professor Ozpin” appears to be in charge around here,_ Roxas thought _. Oh well, at this point I would do anything to be able to get some sleep and heal._

“Alright, lead the way.”

* * *

 

 Standing on top of a cliffside that overlooked the Emerald Forest, an older, gray-haired man had watched as certain events unfolded throughout the exam. He had observed all parts of the exam through the use of his scroll, which was connected to an assortment of hidden cameras that were placed in a manner to see the entire forest, in order to both observe the students’ progress and intervene if necessary. He had seen all of the partnerships form, some starting off as essential allies, while others would take time to realize their full potential. Two teams had essentially formed at the end of the exam in order to deal with the Nevermore and Deathstalker they had unintentionally summoned and appeared to work quite well together.

However, while these events drew Ozpin’s curiosity, another recent event had stolen his attention.

The appearance of a strange black corridor in an abandoned clearing had peaked his curiosity before seeing a figure dressed in black exit it in a heap, appearing to be unconscious. The ensuing fight that happened once they regained consciousness and the stranger’s weapons had only served to confirm his suspicions.

_It has been a long time since I have seen proper magic in this world. I wonder how this newcomer will affect the events that are to come._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, we end Chapter 2 of "Aura and The Void". As always, I'm open to constructive feedback. Love it? Hate it? Let me know in a review. See ya in the next chapter of "Aura and The Void"!
> 
> This is DrMakenshi, signing off.


	3. Figures of Authority

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix own Kingdom Hearts, while RWBY is property of Rooster Teeth.

Chapter 3:  Figures of Authority

* * *

 

After Roxas took a couple of minutes to rest, he and the group of four girls ran back to area that they claimed they had been at before. Few words were exchanged with all members of the party deciding to save their energy until they reached the end of the initiation. Quickly making their way up a cliffside path on the side of the mountain, Roxas pondered about what to do when he met this “Professor Ozpin”.

_Probably best to stick with the “murky memory” story. Apparently this world has never seen a keyblade, since the girl in white, Weiss, called it a sword and wondered why it disappeared. Best to not make any questionable comments until I figure out how this world functions._

Just coming into view from down the path, Roxas could make out a figure. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties and wore an outfit made up of a white blouse and a matching black corset and slacks. Her    blonde hair was done in a bun with a few hairs hanging loose around her face. She wore a small pair of glasses which highlighted her face. Two things, however, stood out as odd to Roxas. The first was the purple cape that the woman had around her shoulders, which appeared to end in a tattered arrow like pattern at the end. The cape also sported a yellow picture of a tiara in the center. The second was what appeared to be her weapon, a riding crop, which was attached to her waist.

 _That seems a little impractical, but you never know. Zexion fought with a book after all_ , Roxas thought, before his group got within range of the woman.

“Professor Goodwitch, we made it! Sorry, we’re late,” Ruby called, waiving to get her attention, with a smile on her face. Said smile quickly turned into a small look of fear when she saw the emotion decorating the professor’s face.

Cold annoyance.

“Miss Rose, you and your companions completed the course very far behind your fellow initiates. Would you like to explain yourselves?” the professor asked, giving off a feeling of power and authority, ending the statement with the loud snap of her scroll as it closed.

Furiously shaking her head, Ruby started, “Well, you see what happened was me and Weiss got lost in the forest, so we caught a ride on a Giant Nevermore and then jumped when we found the temple and ran into Yang, Blake, Jaune, Ren, and Nora. Then, Pyrrha ran in being chased by a Deathstalker and we decided to retreat until we got to the cliffside and the Nevermore was mad at us, so it smashed the bridge, and then we had to have Yang punch it in the face, and Blake and Weiss shot me at it like a slingshot, so I ran up the cliff and decapitated it. Then, I saw this big column of light from off in the forest and decided to help whoever it was, and we found Roxas here in the forest alone fighting tons of Ursa,” Ruby rambled, seemingly speeding up as she panicked until her new partner silenced her with a hand over her mouth.

“We were delayed due to the interference of two elder Grimm, which we killed, and Ruby ended up at the top of the cliffside. She noticed a large column of energy coming from a section of the forest and decided to help the huntsmen involved with us following after her. We found Roxas there and defeated the Grimm that were ambushing him,” Weiss explained in a disciplined manner, similar to the manner in which Saix would deliver mission briefs. _Factual, to the point, and emotionless._

Hearing this explanation, Professor Goodwitch took her eyes off the duo in front of her and narrowed her eyes at the unknown boy. “Young man, what were you doing in the forest? The forest is under the protection of Beacon and was to be closed off due to the initiation exam. What do you have to say for yourself?”, Professor Goodwitch stated, deciding that the boy’s answer would affect her actions.

“I…honestly don’t know. When I woke up in the forest, I was extremely sore and exhausted. My head also hurt and my memory of events before waking up is kinda shaky,” Roxas answered, pretending that the glare of the woman in front of him bothered him. He had faced down Saix and was prepared to face Xemnas. It was going to take more than a simple glare to bother him, but it was also best not to appear too challenging.

“Mhm,” muttered Glynda, not relenting in her stare. While the boy appeared harmless enough, he seemed to give off an aura of raw power. However, the power didn’t appear to be unfocused. No, it appeared to be tightly controlled. Suspicious of the young boy, Glynda turned away from the students and moved to send a message to Ozpin. She didn’t get far.

At that second, a small notification came up, simply stating:

_Dear Glynda,_

_I am aware of an uninitiated huntsmen being found in the forest. Please bring him back with the other students and send him to my office upon your return._

_—Ozpin_

_Typical Ozpin, always two steps ahead of the situation_ , Glynda thought. She quickly typed out a message concerning the boy’s name and apparent feats to Ozpin before turning back to the students and young hunter.

“Come with me. We are all to head back to Beacon. Once we get back, you four will be evaluated and Roxas will meet with Professor Ozpin”. Not even taking a moment to see if they were following, Glynda marched back up the trail, the four initiates and one trespasser following swiftly behind.

* * *

 _Not what I was expecting when they said ‘academy’_ , Roxas thought, staring at the school with a brief look of awe. Instead of a mundane building, like Twilight Town’s school, which he had passed on missions, the building’s design was much closer to the Organization’s castle. The area featured a large, open courtyard that was surrounded by a large number of arches. The building itself however, appeared to loom over the surrounding area, giving off an aura of both protection and power.

However, Roxas’ thoughts soon went back to what Professor Goodwitch had said on the cliffside. _Why does Professor Ozpin want to meet with me if he runs the entire school? Couldn’t he have a subordinate do that_ , Roxas pondered. His face gained a slightly apprehensive look as he thought about this and how to keep his cover straight.

Noticing the sudden change of expression and sensing what the issue was, Ruby piped up next to Roxas. “Don’t worry about meeting with Professor Ozpin. He can be a little intimidating and strange, but he is actually really nice. If you’re lucky, you might even get some cookies out of the talk,” Ruby said, mouth slightly watering at the memory of the cookies brought in during her interrogation. Roxas simply turned to her and gave a slightly confused look.

“Cookies? And how do you know Ozpin? _,”_ Roxas wondered. It seemed strange that Ruby had had a lot of personal contact with the man if he ran an entire academy. Xemnas had ruled over the thirteen members of Organization XIII and, yet, he barely interacted with any of the members other than Saix and Xigbar.

At this question, Ruby gained a slightly embarrassed expression. “Well, you see, I kind of got in some trouble for attempting to stop a robbery-in-progress. I was taken down to the police station where Professor Goodwitch and Ozpin talked to me about my actions. Ozpin gave me cookies, complimented my combat skills, and accepted me into Beacon two years early.”

“Wait! You were arrested by the Vale Police Department?” Weiss questioned, looking at her new partner with disbelief.

“Arrested is such a mean word. Let’s just say ‘detainment’,” Yang announced, having more than once been ‘detained’ for public brawls. Punctuating her words, she threw a friendly arm around Weiss’ shoulders.

This gesture ultimately failed when the brawler accidentally put the heiress in an impromptu headlock instead.

“Ah. Let me go, you brute!” Weiss squeaked, the anger in her voice quickly being overcome by the lack of oxygen. She attempted to slip her hands under the larger woman’s hold, but her efforts ultimately yielded no results, except laughter from both Yang himself and Ruby, who was happy it wasn’t her in the same position as Weiss.

“Yang, let her go. I think you’re killing her,” Blake cut in, although a small smile appeared on her face, betraying her slight joy at the situation.

 _Well, that at least explains why she looks slightly younger than everyone else here_ , Roxas thought, looking back at the mayhem taking place behind them. Overall, the girls seemed to get along reasonably well for apparently just meeting each other. However, it was also easy to see that Weiss appeared to have the shortest temper of the group, easily being offended by certain topics.

“Alright, alright. I was just trying to be friendly,” Yang whined, reluctantly relinquishing the grip. Released from the hands of death, Weiss immediately bent over, inhaling as much oxygen as possible to make up for lost time. With her last victim released, Yang focused back on the original topic of the conversation.

Walking up to Roxas’ position, Yang placed her right hand on his shoulder, the other hand sporting a thumbs up. “Don’t worry about it. Ozpin is probably just curious about you. It’s not every day you find a random Hunter knocked out in the middle of the forest,” she said, a smile lightning up her face.

 _I hope that’s the only reason he’s interested,_ Roxas thought.

* * *

 

Upon entering the main building, Glynda stopped in front of an elevator and waited for the group of young hunters to catch up. “Girls, you are to return your weapons to the locker room and head back to the ballroom. Professor Peach will be there to take your artifacts,” she announced, pointing down a hall way. Turning her back to the group, she pushed the call button for the elevator. Casting a cautious look at the group behind her, Glynda said, “Young man, you will accompany me up to Professor Ozpin’s office for your meeting. Girls, you are dismissed.

The group of four hesitantly made the trek towards the locker room, but not before Ruby and Yang gave a quick call of “Good luck!” and Blake gave a small nod. The doors to the elevator opened soon afterwards, Roxas following behind Glynda as they entered. After pushing the button for the highest floor, the car was enveloped in a cold silence, neither person having anything to say to the other.

After a minute of climbing upwards, the elevator slowed to a stop and a loud chime signaled their arrival before the doors opened upon an impressively large office.

 _This looks a lot like the inner workings of the Clocktower_ , Roxas thought. The side walls and floor seemed to be decorated in a mix of muted green and brown tones. The ceiling, however, appeared to be made of a mix of interacting gears, turning away for an unknown purpose. At the far end of the room, the wall was composed of large glass panels, appearing to allow others to gaze out over the academy and some of the surrounding forest.

Seated in front of the window and behind a desk was a man who appeared to be in his mid-40s. The man was dressed in a black suit and was accented with a bright green scarf under the suit jacket. Well-kept grey hair framed a face that appeared calm and collected. Upon seeing the arrival of his two visitors, a small smile was shown.

“Ah, Glynda, thank you so much for escorting the boy up to my office. That should be all for now,” the man said, his voice even and friendly.

“As you wish, Professor Ozpin,” she answered, quickly turning on her heel and reentering the elevator, the doors closing soon after, leaving Roxas alone with Ozpin.

“Mr. Roxas, please take a seat,” Ozpin intoned, waving at a chair in front of the desk. Making haste, Roxas crossed the floor and took the seat, placing him in the direct gaze of the headmaster.

“Good, good,” Ozpin said. Folding his hands on top of each other, the man softly inquired, “I would like to know what you were doing in the Emerald Forest, Roxas?”

“Well, I’m not really sure. Ya see, I woke up in the forest, but I don’t really know what I was doing there. My memory is kinda messed up in different places. Probably has something to do with my head hurting when I woke up,” Roxas answered, trying to sound like a typical teenager. _Those memory implants from Namine may do some good after all._

“That sounds very reasonable. Head wounds are known to cause issues such as memory loss,” the man answered taking a drink of what appeared to be coffee from the nearby mug. A small smile seemed to emerge on the man’s lips as he looked up from the mug.

“Of course, it could also be due the magic you used to come here.”

“Huh?” Roxas said, light confusion showing on his young face. Internally, however, Roxas was flabbergasted. _What? How can he know how I got here?_

“My dear boy, it has been a long time since I have seen anyone cast such powerful magic,” Ozpin stated calmly, giving Roxas an inquisitive eye. “Tell me, have you always had these gifts?”

“Um, yes, for as long as I can seem to remember,” Roxas stammered, still surprised by the man’s inquiry. _Technically, I’m not lying. I just haven’t been alive all that long in the first place._

“Most people believe that magic is a simple myth, a fairytale recorded by time. The general populace does not know that some can still wield it. What other types of magic can you use?”

“I can use attack and defend using different elemental attributes. I can create my weapons out of the same attributes,” Roxas answered, trying to answer the man’s questions, but still trying to be vague. Even if the people of this world had seen some magic, they were most likely still unaware of different worlds and creatures.

“Hmm,” Ozpin hummed under his breath before giving Roxas a thoughtful look, “Do you remember if we can contact anyone to help you? Memory can be gained back over time, but it is always better to seek aid when possible. We also don’t want anyone to be worried about your condition.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I don’t have any family left to contact. I also don’t remember attending a school before coming here,” Roxas answered, a hint of sadness coming into his tone. _Still not lying. I never had parents and the closest thing I had to a brother is hunting me down._

“Well Roxas, given your abilities with magic and the information I gathered from the report Glynda sent me and your current lack of a residence, I would like you to attend Beacon for the time being. You appear to be sufficiently skilled to enter this institution and your powers would allow you to become a fine huntsmen. This option would also allow you the perks of an average student, such as room and board. You would, however, be treated as a specialty student due to a lack of team members,” Ozpin explained, face remaining neutral during the entire conversation. He took another drink from the coffee cup before leveling a calm stare at Roxas, awaiting his answer.

_Cons:  Being around a large group of students could possibly risk my secret getting out. Also, I’m not sure if the Organization knows where I am._

_Pros:  Free housing and free food sounds pretty good. Plus, the school would make it easy to gather information about this world without appearing too suspicious. Some more combat training wouldn’t probably hurt. Finally, the student body would make it easy to blend in incase of trouble._

_Well, that decision basically made itself._

 “Alright, I’m in,” Roxas answered finally, smiling in order to hide the look of determination that briefly passed over his face. “Is there anything else I should now before I start?” Roxas inquired, wondering if he could gain any more information about this world.

Ozpin gained a thoughtful look, placing his hand to his chin. “For now, we will say that your semblance is a very destructive form of energy control. This will be enough to explain your abilities to most of the student body and faculty. However, try to avoid any large scale use of your powers in the presence of others,” he stated.

“I think I can do that,” Roxas said, not worried in the slightest. At full strength, it would be very easy to take down the monsters he had fought in the forest. They honestly would have posed as much threat as a Bully Dog.

“Very well than,” Ozpin responded, typing out an unseen message on a computer interface that had appeared from the desk. “I must be off to the new team initiations, but I will have Glynda come back up to collect you and lead you to your new room. In the meantime,” he answered, the door to the elevator closing behind him, but not before he called out:

“Welcome to Beacon.”

* * *

Ozpin mulled over the conversation as he rode the elevator down. _Quite the mysterious young man._ Despite how the boy tried to act, Ozpin could tell that he was wise beyond his years. He also was nowhere as innocent as he tried to act. However, Ozpin could also easily sense the aura of pure light energy coming from the boy.

_Make no mistake, young one. I will uncover your secrets, but in due time and, hopefully, with your blessing. I simply want to help you grow to your full potential. In time, you could easily become one of the best pieces on the board, capable of flipping the entire outcome of the game._

Ozpin’s eyes narrowed with one final thought:

_Let’s just hope you continue to play for our side of the chess board._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another chapter down! Remember: Love it? Hate it? Leave me a review and tell me what you think. See ya in the next chapter of "Aura and The Void".
> 
> This is DrMakenshi, signing off.


	4. Settling In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is owned by Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix and RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth.

Chapter 4:  Settling In

* * *

 

It seemed that only a few moments had passed before a chime signaled the return of the elevator and, with it, Professor Goodwitch. She appeared to be slightly less annoyed than earlier, but that didn’t seem to be saying much.

“Alright, Mr. Roxas, come with me. I will escort you to your dorm room here at the academy,” she intoned. The words had barely left her mouth when she quickly turned back and headed back towards the elevator. Roxas had to quickly jump out of the seat and run to the doors, barely entering before they closed. Goodwitch still had a look of utter boredom on her face at the display.

_I don’t think I like her very much. She seems even colder than Saix._

With this thought in mind, Roxas decided to try to act friendly. “So, is there anything I need to now before I start going to school here? I’m a little lost on everything,” he said, wanting to gather some information on the school. The cold look she directed at him did nothing to ease my worry.

“Ozpin informed me of your situation,” she answered as the elevator opened. She strode out briskly and Roxas struggled to catch back up, following her outside and into a nearby building. “As we had a lower number of teams formed this year, you will be set up in one of the empty dorm rooms for freshman teams. We will send one of the newly-formed teams to deliver the school materials you will need.” The woman never even looked at him as they walked down the drab corridor.

“Ok,” Roxas mumbled. _Great, what else would a normal person ask about? Let’s see:  lodging, books,…oh._ “What about my schedule?” _Life in the Organization was highly scheduled and I know from my fake memories that you’re supposed to have a schedule for school._

“Your schedule will be sent to your Scroll, which will be delivered with the rest of your materials, along with your school uniform,” she answered.

“Uniform?” Roxas asked, not liking the prospect. His cloak was made specifically for fighting, so changing into a school uniform seemed unwise, especially for a so-called ‘combat school’. Glynda sent a short glare at him.

“Yes, uniforms. During classes, you will be required to wear Beacon’s standard school uniform. For combat classes, you will be allowed to change into a more combat-appropriate outfit at the professor’s discretion,” she barked, her tone cold enough to leave no room for questions.

Roxas inwardly sighed. _Wow, I don’t have a heart and I think I have more personality,_ he thought with an internal chuckle.

“Here we are.”

Pulled out of his internal musing, Roxas looked up at the door. The white door was non-descript and had an electronic lock and scanner above the bronze door knob. A bronze plaque next to the door held a holder, apparently put there to show the room’s occupants, that was currently empty.

Goodwitch pulled out a small, white rectangular device, quickly holding it in front of the scanner before a chime was heard. Grasping the door knob, she gave a flick of her wrist and opened the door revealing the inside.

Inside, a group of four beds lay evenly spread out across the floor, each properly made with a rich set of red sheets. A small bookshelf rested to the side of the room, along with what appeared to be a large closet and a door that would presumably lead to a small bathroom. A window allowed in a large amount of sunshine, illuminating the room.

To most people, this room would seem barren, empty, and slightly small. But, to Roxas…

 _This is the most space I’ve ever had_.

He was slightly astonished. The room was much larger than his room back at the Organization and seemed much more welcoming.

_The lack of extreme white is definitely a plus._

The Organization’s rooms had all been decorated in white: white walls, white ceiling, white floor, white bed, and white sheets. _White, white, and more white,_ he thought with exasperation. The mix of earth tones made the room seem much more welcoming. The light pouring in through the window was a stark contrast to the darkness that poured into his old room.

“This will be your dorm for as long as you attend Beacon. Since you are currently living by yourself, you are allowed to move the furniture as you please, but you are not to remove any of it. Also, for the time being, you will not be able to leave your room, as a Scroll is required to unlock the dorm room. The other team will be by soon to deliver it,” Goodwitch explained, slightly surprised by the look of happiness on the boy’s face. So far the boy had kept up a neutral look, so the sudden change was slightly surprising, if not welcome, change.

“Any other questions you have should be answered by the team. Good day and good luck,” she stated, her voice going slightly softer. Roxas was barely able to nod before she had exited the room, the door closing silently behind her.

* * *

 

An hour and a half passed before a couple of knocks shattered the silence of the room and woke Roxas up. Having no clue when the other team would come by he had decided to take a small nap in order to recover some of his strength. Waking up, Roxas could already feel the positive effects that short nap had have.

 _Much better. A full-night’s rest and I will be back in top-shape,_ he thought, flexing some of the muscles in his legs and arms to test for soreness. Hearing another knock, he made his way to the door. “Who is it,” he asked, not willing to open the door without hearing who it was.

_The Organization has made me more than a little paranoid._

“Hey, Roxas! It’s Ruby and the newly-created Team RWBY! We have your stuff for school tomorrow,” the muffled voice of the red girl answered.

_Team Ruby?_

Roxas, still slightly confused, opened the door to see Ruby and the three other girls from earlier, all of them holding a number of objects. The girl seemed even more excited than when he saw her earlier, practically bouncing despite the large books in her arms. Weiss, however, seemed to be mildly upset about something, but was attempting to hide it.

“Hey, can we come in? This stuff is pretty heavy,” Ruby asked after a moment, as Roxas appeared to still be standing in the doorway.

“Oh, sure,” he started, moving aside to let the newly formed team in. They all headed towards the closest bed to the door and deposited the school materials, Yang and Ruby basically throwing the objects with abandon, before turning to him. “So, Team Ruby, huh?”

“Yeah,” Ruby responded quickly, ”Team R-W-B-Y, RWBY. And guess what, I’m the leader!”

“That’s good,” Roxas answered, unsure of how to respond. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a slight frown on Weiss’ face before it quickly disappeared.

_They take the name of each member and make a team name out of it. Interesting, but I think a lot of people are going to get Ruby and Team RWBY confused._

“So, you get this whole room to yourself, huh?” Yang asked, slightly impressed, but also trying to break the silence that followed Roxas’ response. Their team had already seen the size of their room and she was not exactly thrilled.

“Yeah, I’m considered a specialty student, so they said I could just take one of the empty dorms,” he said, still slightly happy at the large amount of room.

“Lucky! We have to shove all of us and all are stuff into one little room. It’s gonna turn into a sweatlodge in no time,” Yang sighed in a theatrical manner. Before Roxas could answer, a small cough from Weiss cut off the rest of the conversation.

“Now, we brought you your books for classes, your school uniform, a couple of other necessities, and here is your Scroll,” she intoned, handing Roxas a device similar to the one that Goodwitch had used to open the room. Pulling it open, he noticed that it seemed to be a more high-tech version of the phones used in Twilight Town, or at least the virtual Twilight Town.

_Okay, maybe those memories can be put to a good use._

Noticing a new message, Roxas clicked it which brought up his apparent schedule. Blake helpfully cut in at seeing a look of confusion come onto the boy’s face.

“The books that you need for each class will be listed next to them along with the time of the class. You have the same schedule as us since you are entering as a freshman,” she said softly. A squeal was heard soon after.

“Oh! I have an idea! Us and another team are going to meet up tomorrow morning to go to class together. You can join us, so you don’t get lost trying to find the class. Plus, we can introduce you to Team JNPR,” Ruby said, seemingly very proud of her idea.

Roxas mulled over the idea for a moment before making a decision. Meeting up with a group of students just to go to class seemed strange to him, but this appeared to be a normal thing here, and he was slightly apprehensive about meeting another group of students. The Organization had trained him to avoid excessive contact with people from another world. Roxas internally shook his head.

_I need to stop letting the Organization’s rules define my life. I guess it would help me to get to know some of the people in this world._

“Okay,” he finally responded. His response was followed by a quick “Yes” from Ruby and a quick skyward fist bump by Yang.

“Alright, well it’s getting late. We need to head back to our room and get some sleep. School starts bright and early tomorrow,” Ruby said giving a small yawn before stretching her arms out. “Goodnight, Roxas! We’ll knock on your door twenty minutes before class tomorrow to get you,” she said before heading out the door, the rest of the team following after with a ‘good night’.

Roxas watched them leave before making his way back to sit on the bed he had chosen, one of the closest to the window. Thanks to his recent nap, Roxas felt far from exhausted and elected to do something productive. Glancing over at the stack of textbooks, Roxas grabbed the book on the top of the stack, titled ‘History of Remnant’, before getting comfortable on the bed.

_Time to do some recon…_

* * *

Waking up to the rising of the sun, Roxas felt excellent.

_Ah, a good sleep was what I really needed._

After getting up and doing his morning stretches, Roxas could easily tell that his previous soreness had evaporated. A slight check also showed that his magic reserves had fully replenished, granting him full access to his array of magic.

_Even if I don’t fully need it, it’s still nice to have my magic if I need it._

Glancing at the schedule again, Roxas saw that he still had a large amount of time before his meeting with Team RWBY. He only had one class today, ‘Grimm Studies’, which was taught by a man known as Professor Port.

Deciding that he would be unable to go back to sleep, Roxas decided to get ready for the day ahead. He took a short shower before putting on the school’s uniform.

_This is…really unlike me._

The outfit consisted of a white shirt, dark blue vest, and a black suit jacket highlighted with gold seams. The uniform was completed with a red tie, black slacks, and black dress shoes. He had fought with the tie for about 15 minutes before getting it tied, being tempted several times to slice the tie to ribbons.

_Stupid neck trap! Why would anybody wear one these things by choice?_

Overall, Roxas appeared like a well-dressed gentleman, fully of manners and honor. A far cry from the battle-hardened Nobody that was just beneath the surface, waiting to be set free.

_I almost look…normal._

Walking away from the bathroom mirror, Roxas went back to the bed to continue doing some general recon on the world of Remnant while he waited for Team RWBY to knock on his door.

Last night, he had decided to look over some of the basic information of this world. He had discovered that instead of magic, the world had used a consumable product known as Dust for a substitute, which was used to create and power their civilization.

_I’m going to need to get some of that Dust soon. I can use it to partially explain my powers and possibly even augment my current abilities._

He had also learned more about the creatures of Grimm that plagued the world. He had only studied the basics there, since he would soon have a class on it, but had learned the basics.

_Grimm are just basically a toned down version of Pureblood Heartless. They are made of darkness and are basically mindless, driven only by their desire to consume others. At least that should make them easy to fight._

The concepts of aura and semblance were akin to a low-level healing spell, protecting the user from harm, and semblances just seemed to be more like some of the special abilities he had learned, although each person only seemed to have one ability granted by their semblance.

What had surprised Roxas was the presence of the Faunus.

On most of the worlds he had traveled to, most of the populace appeared to have been of one species with a few members being different. On Remnant, it appeared that a large percent of the populace was made up of a species known as the Faunus, which looked like humans that had manifested a certain animal trait. What truly shocked him, however, was the treatment they received.

 _They’re treated similar to Nobodies_.

This thought made a frown appear on the young Nobody’s face. From what he had gathered so far, Humans and Faunus had once been at war before a tenuous peace was created. However, even with the peace, a large number of powerful Faunus, the White Fang, had sprung up to fight for rights primarily through violence.

 _Hmm…sounds familiar,_ he thought, thinking back to his days in the Organization. Being treated like a lesser being and working to acquire hearts without a second thought.

Roxas continued reading for another 45 minutes before he was interrupted.

A cascade of loud knocks pulled him from his reading and anger and back to the world around him. Grabbing a pencil, notebook, and the ‘Grimm Studies’ textbook, Roxas headed to the door, opening it to find the form of a panicking Ruby Rose.

“Good, you’re awake! We didn’t see the time and we’re gonna be late to class! Come on, we gotta go, go, go!” she said in a rushed voice, shocking Roxas with her look of pure fear and panic. She had barely seemed to finish her sentence when she seemed to disappear in a cloud of rose petals, reappearing right behind a group made up of her team and, presumably, Team JNPR.

Sensing that being late on the first day would create a large amount of attention, Roxas immediately took off after the group, quickly catching up to the back of the crowd with a single thought in his mind:

_Is every morning going to start this interesting?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, Chapter 4 has reached its end. I realize that this chapter is more transitional, but I felt it was necessary to move the plot along without just skipping over to the contents of the next chapter. Remember: Love it? Hate it? Let me know in a review. See ya in the next chapter of "Aura and The Void".
> 
> This is DrMakenshi, signing off.


	5. Is this what school is supposed to be like?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is owned by Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix and RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth. I own nothing but the plot.

Chapter 5: Is this what school is supposed to be like?

* * *

After running the entire way, they were able to make it into the lecture with Roxas and Team RWBY sliding into the first row of seats with the presumed Team JNPR sitting one row up.

“Ah! Well, that seems to be everyone,” declared a jolly voice.

Looking up, Roxas connected the voice to the man standing in front of the classroom. He appeared to be a rather large man, in both nature and size. Complementing his gray hair, a set of large grey eyebrows and a large mustache took up most of the man’s face.

“My name is Professor Port and I will be your instructor in the marvelous subject of the Grimm,” he announced, the mustache on his face seeming to move in place of his mouth. His introduction finished, he began to pace around the room.

“Monsters, demons, prowlers of the night. Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as ‘prey’. Haha!” he boasted, laughing near the end with a hopeful gleam in his eye before turning to his students.

He was met with pure silence in response.

“Uh…and you shall too after graduating from this prestigious academy. Now, as I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teaming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces,” he continued, seemingly unaware that almost no one was listening at this early hour. Roxas silently pondered what the professor had said.

_So, the people here have basically been fighting a constant war against the Grimm for centuries. Wow. At least most worlds I had traveled to only had small skirmishes with the Heartless. This world has been fighting a constant struggle against its end since it was created._

“And that’s where we come in. Huntsmen, huntresses,” he said, the last part punctuated with a wink towards Yang. The girl gave a slight sigh and an eyeroll as a response.

 _Uhm, I don’t think that’s normal_ , Roxas thought, slightly disturbed by the random interaction.

“Individuals who have sworn to protect those that cannot protect themselves. ‘From what?’ you ask. Why, the very world. That is what you are training to become.”

“But first, a story. A tale of a young, handsome man:  Me! When I was a boy…”

Sensing that the topic of discussion would not be focusing on Grimm anytime soon, Roxas took the time to study the team sitting beside him. Blake had a small book out, written purely in script, that she was reading from and Yang, while staring at the professor, appeared to be paying the man no mind. Weiss appeared to be rapidly taking notes on Port’s story, but an annoyed expression was easily seen on her face, become worse every second.

It only took Roxas a few seconds to figure out why. Sitting next to Weiss, Ruby quickly held up a crude drawing of Port with the title ‘Professor Poop’ written underneath, laughing under here breath with Yang soon joining in.

 _Wow, that’s really…mature,_ Roxas thought sarcastically. A sharp cough from Port quickly cut off his train of thought and silencing the two girls before he returned to his teaching.

“In the end, the Beowulf was no match for my sheer tenacity. I returned to the village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero,” he boast, giving a quick bow.  Sensing the end of the story, Roxas looked back over at Weiss and Ruby. “The moral of this story:,”

“A true Huntsman must be honorable!” Ruby was currently balancing her textbook and an apple, which appeared out of nowhere, on her pencil.

_How did she even…?_

“A true Huntsman must be dependable!” In a flash, the balancing objects were gone and Ruby appeared to be zoning out again, her eyes almost closed as she did.

_What!? It’s only been two seconds…_

“A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!” And now she picking her nose.

_Ok, even I know that that is not socially acceptable._

Glancing to the left of the girl, Roxas was able to pick up one thing quite clearly:

Weiss looked ready to snap.

“So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?”

In a flash, Weiss’ hand was in the air, demanding the entire room’s attention, proclaiming, “I do, sir!” The look of anger was still present on her face.

Port appeared to perk up at the quick response. “Well then, let’s find out. Step forward and face your opponent,” he declared, gesturing to a large crate that was brought in from the doors on the other side of the room.

While Weiss excused herself to quickly change into her combat uniform, Roxas took a moment to study the cage. A pair of menacing red eyes stared out from the bars. The large cage seemed to shake as feral growls erupted from within.

 _Is that a Grimm? Please tell me he is not going to set that thing loose in here._ While Roxas was all in favor of working on and perfecting combat skills, releasing a wild monster in a crowded lecture hall of unarmed students seemed unwise.

As Weiss re-entered, dressed in the same outfit he had met her in, she barely spared the rest of her team a look, heading straight for the center of the floor and taking up a combat stance.

“Go, Weiss!” Yang yelled, fist bumping the air. It was very clear that Yang was up for any kind of distraction from the dull lecture.

“Fight well,” Blake said, waving a small pennant flag with ‘RWBY’ printed on it.

_When did she get that made?_

“Yeah, Weiss! Represent Team RWBY!” Ruby yelled, her pride in her teammate showing. Weiss, however, seemed less than thrilled.

“Ruby, I’m trying to focus!” she snapped, directing a sharp glare at the younger girl.

“Oh, sorry,” she said in a dejected manner, quietly shrinking back into her seat.

“Alright, let the match BEGIN!” Port yelled, swinging an axe-like weapon at the lock of the cage and breaking it. Not even a half-second seemed to pass before a boar-like Grimm surged from within the cage, throwing the door to the side as it went, and charged directly at Weiss. With the initial shock, Weiss was barely able to lunge out of the way, throwing a half-hearted slash at its armored side as it passed.

“Haha! Wasn’t expecting that, were you?” Port said, seemingly a little too proud of himself for surprising his students. Taking the beast’s moment of hesitation as an opening, Weiss surged forward, rapier fully ready to impale and kill the Grimm.

The Grimm had different plans.

Angling its tusks to the side, the Grimm was able to trap Weiss’s rapier before charging straight into her unprotected side. Giving a small huff of pain, she used the momentum to flip back around and continue the fight for her weapon.

“Bold new approach. I like it!” declared Port, apparently not seeing the young girl’s struggles. Roxas, however, was, in his own way, worried.

 _That is NOT an approach! That is someone struggling to survive!_ He had the urge to help the struggling huntress, but he also realized that an intervention was probably unwise, especially in front of the large amount of students.

“Come on, Weiss, show it who’s boss,” Ruby cheered, attempting to support her partner. This caused Weiss to make a horrible mistake:

She looked away from her opponent.

Taking barely a second to glare at Ruby, the Grimm took advantage of the moment of distraction, ripping the rapier from Weiss’s hands and throwing it behind itself. Weaponless, Weiss couldn’t defend against the next charge of the beast, being thrown to the side of the room.

At this turn of events, Port mainly looked intrigued and said,“Hoho, now what will you do without your weapon?”

Seeing the girl undefended, Roxas was about to jump into action. Training was one thing, but this was another. _This has gone too far!_ Hiding his hand beneath the desk, he began to summon Oathkeeper. He had just gathered the light magic in his hand and began to stand up when Weiss decided to make her move.

Seeing the creature come in for a final strike, Weiss rolled around the charging beast and made a run for her rapier, sliding to reach it before the Grimm’s next rush.

“Weiss, go for its belly! There’s no armor under there,” Ruby advised, seeing that her partner was struggling.

 _Smart. While her rapier isn’t strong enough to crack the armor, the unprotected areas should be easily pierced,_ Roxas thought with a small amount of respect. However helpful, this piece of advice seemed to make Weiss snap.

“Stop telling me what to do!” she yelled, giving Ruby the angriest expression he had seen on her so far. Turning back in time, the boar-like Grimm started to spin itself in place, speeding up as it continued, before making an extremely fast dash at Weiss. In her ready stance, Weiss was able to throw up a glyph-like symbol in the air that was able to stop the beast head on and knocked it onto its back. Another of the symbols appeared in the air, with Weiss jumping onto it and being held in the air for a brief second before making a sharp lunge at the creature, piercing the unprotected stomach. The sharp cry of the creature could be heard by all in the class as the beast eventually grew silent.

 _Interesting. She got angry at Ruby, but she still took her advice,_ Roxas thought.

“Bravo, bravo! It appears we are, indeed, in the presence of a true huntress-in-training. I’m afraid that’s all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings and stay vigilante. Class dismissed,” Port exclaimed, placing his hands behind his back as he marched out of the room.

With those words, Weiss marched straight out of the room, not even acknowledging her teammates. Looking over to Ruby, Roxas saw that girl appeared to have a sad look on her face, most likely in response to Weiss’ anger. “I’ll meet you guys back at the room,” she said in a voice that was lacking her usual enthusiasm before quickly making her way out the door, followed slowly by the rest of the student body.

“Well, that was a wonderful way to start our days at Beacon,” Yang sighed, sensing the tension between the two girls. As much as she wanted to, it was pretty obvious to her that whatever issues they had, they needed to work them out themselves. Judging from the looks on their faces, she could tell that Blake and Roxas could see it too.

“Alright, it’s just about time for lunch. What do you guys saying to getting some grub?  Plus, we can introduce ‘sunshine’ here to Team JNPR,” Yang said, giving a stretch as she got up from the desk.

“’Sunshine’?” Roxas asked, sensing the comment was directed at him.

“Yeah, ‘sunshine’, you know because you were all bright like the sun when we first ran into you,” Yang explained, seemingly proud of her creative nickname.

_Uh, not great, but it’s still better than ‘kiddo’._

* * *

Making their way into the massive dining hall, Yang, Blake, and Roxas were quickly waved over to a half-empty table by what appeared to be a very energetic red-head. “Hey, guys! Over here!” she yelled, effectively getting half the room’s attention.

 _I don’t exactly enjoy being the center of attention,_ he thought as he walked with the two girls.

“Hello, Team JNPR. It’s nice to finally talk with you without the mayhem of the last few days,” Blake said, calmly taking a seat on the opposite side of the table.

“You say mayhem, I saw awesomeness,” Yang countered, plopping down beside her partner, Roxas following at a much slower pace.

“I agree that it is nice to talk in a much calmer setting. Where are Ruby and Weiss? Oh, and whose you’re new friend?” a girl with long red hair and bright green eyes asked, making a small gesture at Roxas at the last question.

Yang gave a dismissive wave, answering, “They needed to go work some stuff out on their own time. In the meantime, we’ve got old Roxas here to keep us company.”

“Hey, Roxas. The name’s Jaune Arc: short, sweet, rolls of the tongue, ladies love it,” said the teen with blonde, shaggy hair and blue eyes. Roxas could tell that the teen was friendly, but he could also see that the show of confidence was just that: a show. Pretending to have emotions left him very able to see the act in others.

“Do they?” he responded, testing his theory.

The response was almost instantaneous. Jaune’s cool guy act dropped completely, leaving behind a stuttering teen, “T-they w-will. Anyways, I’m also the leader of Team JNPR, so there’s that.”

“Hello, there. I’m Pyrrha Nikos. It’s an honor to meet you,” the red-head from earlier greeted, giving a slight bow of her head. She appeared to have an aura of kindness and honor about her. She also gave of the impression of a warrior, despite the innocence of the Beacon uniform.

“Hi! I’m Nora Valkyrie and this is my best friend, Lie Ren. We’ve been together for so long, well not together-together, but, ah, you know what I mean, right?,” said the girl that had initially waved them over. She had short, orange hair and light-green eyes that shone with a large amount of kindness and mischief at the same time. Next to her, a black-haired man with a magenta streak in his hair sat in silence, making a small nod of his head when his name, Ren, was mentioned.

“Alrighty, Roxas! We did all the boring introductions, so now it’s your turn to tell us about you,” Nora yelled, leaning forward over the table and right into Roxas’ face.

Slightly disturbed by the invasion of his personal space, Roxas quickly tried to lean back and recover some distance. “Uh, well, I’m Roxas and I’m here as a specialty student,” he said, not having much of an idea about what else to say. Team JNPR seemed surprised at this statement.

“A specialty student? That’s definitely a unique situation. Why don’t you have a team?” Pyrrha asked, curiosity evident in her tone. It was a rare occurrence for someone to be admitted into that position, as she had not heard about one in a similar position for several years.

“I apparently got hit in the head pretty bad a little bit ago, at least bad enough to give me a concussion. I woke up in the Emerald Forest during the initiation with most of my memories kinda foggy. Ozpin is allowing me to stay here to train while I work on recovering them,” Roxas explained, hoping that would be the end of the conversation.

“Oh man, we’re sorry,” Jaune said, meaning every word. Waking up in a random forest would be hard for anyone, but waking up in a Grimm-infested woods with memory loss had to be a nightmare. The rest of Team JNPR nodded their head in agreement.

“It’s alright, at least I’ve got a place to stay in the meantime,” he answered, not sure how to deal with the sudden influx of sympathy. It was true, however. Beacon seemed to be a sufficient place to lay low for the time and, while the teaching was a bit unorthodox, the schooled seemed to lack a tone of malice.

A yell of pain quickly cut off that thought.

Searching for the source of the yell, Roxas was able to locate its cause. A few tables over a young woman with long, brown hair was being harassed by a large red-headed teen who was pulling on one of her ears.

Her rabbit ears.

 _A Faunus_.

“Haha, come on you guys! I told you they were real! Give a little tug for proof,” he laughed, talking to a group of three other male teens, presumably his team, as he gave a rough tug on the ear.

“Stop it, that hurts,” she explained, trying to not sound too weak. She realized that showing weakness was a bad idea, but her ears were extremely sensitive.

“Atrocious,” Pyrrha said, bringing Roxas’ focus back to the people around him, his anger beginning to rise at the bully’s actions.

“It must be hard being a Faunus,” Yang sighed, but made no move to stop the girl’s torment. Looking around to the rest of the table, he saw a sad expression of some sort on all of the people’s faces.

Still, nobody moved to stop it.

Looking back to the bully and victim, Roxas felt some imitation of anger continuously rise within him. Even if it hadn’t been real, Roxas had hated the way that Seifer and his crew had bullied people in the fake Twilight Town, treating others as if they were lesser beings who should bow before him. Focusing back in his days in the Organization, he almost seemed to remember…something. Someone was being bullied and he…he couldn’t stand for it.

_But, wait, who would I have wanted to protect in the Organization? I was the youngest member and got the most condescension from Saix._

Passing off the feeling as an aftereffect of his fake memories, Roxas focused back on the present and made a decision.

Quickly standing up from the table, Roxas headed towards the pair, not heeding the calls from the people back at the table. Standing beside the pair, the boy was too wrapped up in his ‘fun’ to notice Roxas’ arrival, but the girl saw him in a second.

Roxas tapped on his shoulder to get the boy’s attention. “Hey, leave the girl alone. She hasn’t done anything to you,” he said in a cold manner, trying to resolve the matter without a fight. He was already ready to fight, but he didn’t want to create a scene, not on the first day.

The boy turned to him, an angry glare on his face at having his fun interrupted, “Buzz off, pipsqueak. I’m just having a little fun playing with the animal here. Mind your own business,” he growled, throwing is left arm out and successfully hitting Roxas across the chest with enough force to throw him back.

_Ok, I tried._

The bully, figuring that the other teen was no longer a threat, went back to bullying the girl, not paying any attention to the world around him. He had barely started again when he saw the animal’s eyes widen at something behind.

He had barely turned around in time to see a light-covered fist heading straight for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember: Love it? Hate it? Let me know in a review? See ya in the next chapter of "Aura and The Void"!
> 
> This is DrMakenshi, signing off.


	6. The Exact Opposite of an Ego Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is owned by Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix and RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth.

Chapter 6:  The Exact Opposite of an Ego Trip

* * *

 

In a flash, Cardin had been thrown backwards, effectively splintering the table in half. In the mass mayhem, the Faunus girl had jumped back, while Cardin’s team was sent down into the wreckage, collapsing into the giant pile of limbs and debris.

Overall, the scene was quite comical for Roxas.

_That’s gonna leave a mark._

“Hmph, hmph hmp,” a muffled shout sounded from the bottom of the pile, bring a small smile onto Roxas’ and the girl’s face. Happy, to some extent, Roxas decided to revel in the small victory.

“What was that? I can’t seem to make out what you’re saying,” he answered back calmly.

_Wow, I’ve spent way too much time around Axel…_

A sharp bang, followed by an angry growl, took the focus away from the fight.

Professor Goodwitch was on the scene.

Fearing the wrath of the angry professor, everyone in the cafeteria tried to return to their previous business, except for the table containing the remnants of Team RWBY and Team JNPR. Goodwitch, however, paid them no mind and marched right up to the main cause of the ruckus.

“Would someone like to explain this situation?” she said tersely, the cold demeanor from earlier exchanged for controlled rage. She quickly pulled the riding crop from her belt before making a quick flicking motion at the pile of students. A purple aura seemed to surround each member of the pile, quickly pulling them apart and setting them up straight.

“This little psycho just ran up and punched me!” Cardin answered, his team grouping up behind them.

“Yeah, we were just talking to this girl over here, when the dude runs up and decks Cardin,” the boy with the yellow mohawk responded.

“Is this true, Roxas?” Goodwitch asked, turning to Roxas to get his side of the story.

“No, they were bullying a fellow student and I moved in to stop them,” Roxas answered, his tone slightly defensive at the previous accusations. This seemed to abate some of Goodwitch’s anger, but not all of it.

“Even so, starting a physical altercation is not the proper path of action to take in this matter,” she said, fully ready to punish both of the parties involved.

“W-wait!” the Faunus girl said, jumping into the conversation. “Roxas tried to reason with him first, but Cardin knocked him back. He was just trying to help me,” she explained, becoming sheepish at the end.

Taking a moment to process the new information, Goodwitch could easily make out what had happened. While Faunus had rights equal to every other citizen, there were some that still had disdain and disrespect for the unique individuals. Team CRDL appeared to be a group of such people.

At this revelation, almost all of Goodwitch’s anger for Roxas disappeared from her face, replaced by a much more serene look. Roxas was shocked at the abrupt shift in facial expression.

_Maybe she’s not so bad after all…_

Looking back at the team now standing in the rubble of the pile, the anger on Goodwitch’s face quickly resurfaced. “In the face of this new evidence, I am more inclined to believe Roxas’ and Miss Scarlatina’s side of the confrontation. This is an official warning to the entirety of Team CRDL: Bullying of any form will not be allowed at this Academy. As this was the first instance of this activity and Roxas seems to have taught you a lesson, you are only receiving a warning at this time. Next time, I will not be so forgiving,” she said in a firm tone.

“Roxas, you and Ms. Scarlatina are free to leave.”

Taking the cue, Roxas and the Faunus made their way away from the scene.

“Thank you so much for what you did back there. Roxas, right?” the Faunus girl asked.

“Yeah, and it’s no problem. By the way, what’s your name?” Roxas asked, brushing off the girl’s praise. He was just doing what his instincts had told him was right.

“Velvet. Velvet Scarlatina. It’s nice to meet you,” she said, quickly extending a hand out.

“Likewise,” Roxas responded, quickly shaking the girl’s hand. She gave him a small smile, before appearing to notice something over his shoulder.

“Oh! That’s my team now! I better head over there. Thanks again,” she said before heading towards a group of three students who had just entered the dining hall. Roxas decided to head back to the table he was seated at before.

As he regained his seat, he was greeted by looks of pride and curiosity from the surrounding students. While the silence seemed prevalent, someone finally decided to break the tense silence.

“Wow, you’re strong! We need to have an arm wrestling contest to find out who’s the strongest!”

Of course, this person would be Nora.

“Of course, we would have to find a better place to do it. Probably shouldn’t break another table right away,” she said in a moderately calmer tone before gesturing at the remnants of the table he had smashed, which was being fixed with a quick flick of Goodwitch’s crop.

 _Must be her semblance_ , he thought.

“That was a very honorable thing to do, Roxas,” Pyrrha complemented, having been shocked out of her stupor by Nora’s response.

“Yeah, way to go ‘sunshine’! First day of class and you’re already out taking on the school bully,” Yang praised, reaching around Blake to deliver a solid thump to the boy’s back.

Looking around the table, JNPR and BY all had some type of positive expression on their face, all directed at him. Roxas was astounded by the atmosphere. In the Organization, Axel and occasionally Demyx had been the only people to shoot some type of positive expression his way. All of the others tended to treat him with indifference or, in Xigbar’s case, condescension.

_Wow. I’m definitely going to have to get used to this._

* * *

After lunch, the teams split back up to head back to their respective dorms, with Roxas heading back to his single room and changing back into his coat for comfort. Figuring from today’s lecture that ‘Grimm Studies’ would not actually focus very much on the subject of learning about actual Grimm, Roxas decided to take some of his spare time this evening.

Primarily catching up on the types of Grimm, Roxas learned that the beasts he had encountered in the forest were known as Ursa and the boar-like Grimm used in the class demonstration was known as a Boarbatusk. Studying further, Roxas could easily see that each Grimm had certain characteristics that gave them an edge in combat, similar to Heartless. Beowolves were fast, Ursai were strong, Nevermores could fly and shoot projectiles, etc.

_Still, Grimm seem much tamer when compared to the Heartless. While a Grimm may be calm and wait for prey to attack, Heartless are relentless in their search for hearts to consume, never stopping for a second._

Roxas had also decided to do some recon on the bullies from earlier, just in case a situation ever needed resolving in the future. It turned out all students at Beacon had access to a database that displayed the teams enrolled in the academy. Remembering Goodwitch calling the team ‘Cardinal’, Roxas was able to find the team listed under ‘CRDL’.

_How that makes sense, I may never know._

The leader of the team, Cardin Winchester, was the boy that had primarily been doing the bullying today and his teammates were listed as Russel Thrush (the boy with the mohawk),  Dove Bronzewing (short, blond hair), and Sky Lark (medium-length blue hair). Since the school year had just started, no real valuable information was available about the team, but at least he knew their names now.

Looking back at the clock on the dresser, it appeared to be much later in the evening. Deciding to take a break from the boredom of recon and information gathering, Roxas decided to roam the halls of the dorm and get a general sense of direction.

* * *

Overall, while walking around the dorm had helped him stretch his legs, it had done little to alleviate his boredom. While the dorm was nice and clean, it was also extremely uniform and uninteresting to look at. However, a single door stuck out, appearing at the end of the hall. The door was a natural brown color, which appeared to have faded with time, which was much different from the clean white atmosphere of the other doors in the hallway. The door also seemed to lack a name plate, signaling that it wasn’t a team dorm.

Seeing the unmarked door, Roxas decided to explore a bit more. Opening the door, he was greeted by a short set of steep stairs, ending in an old oak door. Walking up the steps and wrenching the door open with a violent shriek, Roxas looked out to see his discovery.

_Now isn’t that a sunset._

Looking out, Roxas was greeted by the view of an abandoned balcony, seemingly forgotten by most of the school’s inhabitants. Looking out at the surroundings, Roxas was greeted by a sunset that could rival those of Twilight Town, the sky appearing to be painted with a perfect mixture of pink and orange hues.

Walking over to the edge of the balcony, Roxas took a seat on the edge, allowing his feet to dangle down. Looking below, he could see a number of windows below him, presumably leading into the dorms of the other teams.

Finding the atmosphere extremely smoothing, Roxas decided that he had earned a small nap after today’s events. Sitting down on the edge of the roof and leaning back, Roxas closed his eyes with a content smile finding its way to his face.

_Now I just need some Sea-Salt Ice Cream._

* * *

The sharp bang of the balcony’s door being slammed open quickly cut off his small moment of peace. Getting up and turning around to see who had intruded on his alone time, Roxas was greeted by the very last people he had wanted to see:

Team CRDL aka. Cardinal

“Hey, punk! You’re gonna pay for that little stunt you pulled in the cafeteria!,”  Cardinal yelled, a furious expression on his face. He was now dressed in a suit of armor with a bird on the breast plate and a large mace hanging from his belt. Behind him, his three companions from the cafeteria stood behind him, dressed in outfits designed for combat. Looking at the group, Roxas could tell that they were ready to fight.

“Listen Cardin, there is no need for this,” Roxas tried, figuring that a second fight wouldn’t be positive. Still, he was ready if this conversation went south.

“Screw that! You need to learn your place!” Cardin growled, trying to provoke his prey into attacking. In the next second, Cardin had grabbed the mace from his waist and threw a sideways swipe at Roxas. Roxas, however, had faced much worse opponents. The swipe appeared to come in slow motion, allowing Roxas to simply sidestepping the attack and give a quick hop backwards.

“Enough, Cardin! Stop this now,” Roxas yelled.

“Ha! Why? So, you got in one lucky dodge,” Cardin sneered, unaware of the tragic path he was taking. “I’m top dog around here. Compared to me, you’re just a nobody!” he declared, swinging the mace at Roxas’ left side.

_Wrong answer, Cardin._

The confidence seemed to drain from Cardin’s face as he saw his strike was stopped.

“You asked for this,” a voice growled. Cardin was shocked to see his mace deflected to the side by a white key-like sword that Roxas had materialized. Using the momentum from the deflection, Cardin was shocked to see a black key-sword appear in Roxas’ right hand and make a powerful slash against Cardin’s chest armor, throwing him back a foot.

Looking to Cardin’s cohorts, Roxas saw a look of shock on the three other warriors, which was soon replaced by a look of anger. Cardin’s face seemed to have become rage incarnate.

_Oh, great…_

“Don’t just stand there! Get him!”  he yelled, sending his teammates into action. Russel and Dove lunged forward on opposite sides, hoping to catch Roxas in a blind spot, before the blades in each hand were brought up, stopping the attacks with little effort. Seeing his teammates in trouble, Sky took advantage of the opportunity to hit his opponent while distracted, coming in for an overhead strike with his halberd. Roxas, easily seeing the attack, threw the two boys back before crossing the blades in time to stop the halberd. The attack stopped, Roxas threw a swift kick to Sky’s chest, knocking back the tall boy with a grunt of pain. A yell of rage alerted Roxas to Cardin’s next move, coming up right behind the boy to deliver a hefty downwards swipe of his Mace.

_Really?_

Dodging to the side, Roxas missed the whole sweep of the mace and decided to put Cardin’s force to better use. Swinging Oblivion and Oathkeeper around, Roxas delivered a solid hit to the ringleader’s back, the force of the attack and his swing sending him barreling into the recovering Dove before landing in a pile.

Glancing to the right, he saw Russel charging up similar to the Boarbatusk from class today before charge at him with feet first. Throwing up Oblivion to block, Roxas followed up with a sharp attack to Russel’s side, rocketing the boy back into the side of the building with a yell of pain before slumping to the ground.

_One down, three to go._

Looking to his other opponents, he found Dove to have retreated a sizeable distance from the fight. Figuring this was a sign of surrender, Roxas looked to the other two before hearing a series of sharp cracks. He then dived to the side, barely dodging a string of bullets. Looking to the source, Dove appeared to be putting a new ammo clip into the hilt of his sword, which Roxas could now see had a firing mechanism built into the blade.

 _Of course,_ Roxas thought sarcastically, _it’s also a gun._

Deciding to end the threat of the gun quickly, Roxas decided to take an alternate approach. Summoning and surrounding himself in light, Roxas stood stock still. Finished reloading the gun and seeing his opponent stationary, Dove quickly took aim before the unexpected happened.

Unleashing the light energy in a surge, Roxas shot forward at high speeds, but not before shooting a slow Blizzard at the unsuspecting opponent. Surging forward, Roxas ran past Dove, delivering a fast slash as he passed and effectively stunning him. In the moment it took to recover, the Blizzard had reach its target, incasing the boy’s feet and ankles in ice, immobilizing him. Barely giving the boy a second glance, Roxas threw a quick swipe at the boy’s sword, sending it skidding to the other end of the roof. This was followed up by a powerful strike from Oblivion to the boy’s chest, breaking the ice around the feet as he was sent flying back before skidding to a halt on the balcony, his Aura depleted.

_Two._

Looking back at the last two opponents, Sky had decided to charge forward, his halberd outstretched in a manner that would allow him to gain a thrusting attack. Quickly bashing the blade of the weapon away with Oathkeeper, sending in Oblivion for a counter before being deflected by the pole end of the weapon and being forced back with a quick jab of the pole.

_So, he wants to get close enough to hit me while leaving enough space, so I can’t hit him. It’s like fighting a novice version of Xaldin._

_I can work with that._

“Aeroga,” Roxas yelled, feeling the torrential winds surround him. The mini-tornado quickly began to drag Sky in closer, despite the boy’s valiant efforts to stay in position. Finally stumbling, Sky lurched forward and was sucked into the attack before being propelled into the air. Roxas wasted no time, jumping up and delivering a powerful downward swing of Oblivion and Oathkeeper to the boy’s midsection, rocketing him into the floor of the balcony.

_One._

Landing quickly, Roxas launched himself at the only opponent left standing: Cardin. Seeing the strike coming, Cardin threw up his mace in a defensive position.

_Wrong move._

Bringing Oblivion and Oathkeeper down with as much force as possible, Roxas alternated slashing continuously at the mace, knocking back its wielder with every hit. Delivering a swift hit to the mace with Oathkeeper, Roxas delivered a swipe to Cardin’s breastplate, knocking the boy back a solid foot.

Panting heavily, Cardin took a moment to survey his opponent and was shocked.

 _He…isn’t even breathing hard_ , Cardin thought. _He looks like he hasn’t even broken a sweat yet._

“What even are you!?” Cardin growled. Any normal opponent should at least show some signs of tiring at this point.

Roxas only gave a small smirk, further infuriating Cardin.

In his desperation and anger, Cardin brought up his mace straight above his head and charged forward, ready to try to end the fight with one final hit. Roxas simply rolled his eyes.

_You haven’t learned a thing during this fight, have you? Time to end this._

Throwing up his hand, Roxas yelled one final word that would end the battle.

“Thundaga!”

With only a second to wonder about the strange phrase, Cardin barely had time to look up and see the cause of his demise. A gigantic bolt of lightning appeared to have erupted from the quiet sky before rocketing down at Cardin and using his mace as a lightning rod.

“AHHH!” he screamed dropping the mace as quickly as possible before collapsing on his hands and knees. As leftover streams of electricity left him, a shimmering soon covered his body, revealing the entire loss of his Aura.

Looking around the area, Roxas saw that all members of Team CRDL had been properly beaten, their Aura’s either extremely low or gone. Taking the victory, Roxas marched up to Cardin, who was barely remaining conscious.

“Let this be a lesson to you: Don’t ever underestimate your opponent. Also, if I find you picking on another student, you will not like what happens after,” were the last words Cardin heard before passing out.

His battle finished, Roxas made his way back to the door, deciding to head to bed with a sense of accomplishment.

He was so caught up that he didn’t notice the door back to the dorm was partially cracked open.

Nor did he notice the pair of yellow eyes that had watched the entire fight in secret from the stair well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember: Love it? Hate it? Let me know in a review. See ya in the next chapter of "Aura and The Void"!
> 
> This is DrMakenshi, signing off.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's a wrap on Chapter 1. I look forward to everybody's feedback on this. Love it? Hate it? Let me know in a review. See you guys in the next chapter of "Aura and The Void".
> 
> This is DrMakenshi, signing off.


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